Conqueror
by jimelization
Summary: Meridian, 28 years ago. The rebellion has just started gathering new strength and allies while preparing for the war. On an autumn night, as they all set the swords aside to celebrate their small victories, their leader is in love. In love with the woman who sings for him every night.


_**CONQUEROR**_

_**by: jimelization**_

_Summary: __Meridian, 28 years ago. The rebellion has just started __gathering new strength and allies while preparing for the war. On an autumn night, as they all set their swords aside to celebrate their small victories, their leader is in love. In love with the woman who sings for him every night._

_ This one-shot takes place 28 years ago, before Caleb was born. Just a few moments from the early days of Julian and Nerissa's romance and Nerissa's thoughts while still a villain who is aiming to take over the Universe for it's own good, but is meanwhile bond to her newfound love for a man that makes her __complete. **Romance/ Angst**_

Reviews are highly appreciated :)

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_**Each one of us was their own country,**_  
_**and I used to defend mine from your infantry,**_  
_**bare hands, naked chest,**_  
_**but I just failed, I couldn't pass the test...**_

No young man would've been able to resist her, as she sang and danced in the rhythm of the exotic music. The words and melody sounded so playful, warm and cold at the same time. Maybe it was because he was in love, but not only was he was staring in awe. This woman was an enchantress.

_**Across my lands you moved your pawns,**_  
_**you conquered me, **__**we shared the dawns**_  
_**my very border fell rapidly **_  
_**and surrendered to you my army...**_

She was telling the world about them, even though they had to keep it all a secret...She had found a way. Julian was young, his hormones were raging, but he knew something else inside him was even stronger. It wasn't just attraction, it was _love__._  
His thoughts briefly led him back to their first meeting a few months ago. It was she who had instilled new forces and hopes for the people, who saw the inevitable enslavement approaching at a rapid rate...  
Never before had they benefited from a powerful sorceress on their side. _She_ had shown him and his men the Infinite City, that had become their new safe home. The rebels quickly began to adore and worship her, and he himself, felt he had to repay her in some way ...

_**What is left now, but to tell you "splendid"?**_  
_**Right through my heart you have gone, I hand it!**_  
_**Who, what, why, no there's no room for questions-**_  
_**you're a conqueror, my congratulations!**_

The little smoky tavern celebrated with her without realizing that the unknown singer was the sorceress herself. _The Mage._ Yes, she was not like that in front of them. For the rest of the rebellion she was a strict observer, protector and counselor. One of the last representatives of the ancient dynasty. Only he knew her as a woman. And only he, again, could see the black silken hair and the stunning green eyes beneath the magic. She had revealed her true appearance to him, such as no one else could see. She had left him breathless so many times ...

And when she called him a conqueror, not only did all that is male in Julian rise up, not only did his ego feel as if he had been stroked with a golden hand, her hand - his heart also jumped madly.

_**No you were**__** never simply invading**__**,**_  
_**every new day you needed **__**a dose of loving**_  
_**kisses, touches, you wanted the soul-**_  
_**and in the end you took my last idol...**_

_**My border is now a broken vertebra,**_  
_**and you anthem is played by my orchestra,**_  
_**the once battle, does not even matter,**_  
_**the winner shall be the better lover.**_

Lovers, that they were... And she treated him like an equal, in spite of her immense powers. It meant to much to him, he couldn't even describe.  
Before meeting the Mage, the young man had thought that his life shall be forever destined to only fighting and protecting his people. He was a patriot, alright, love simply never seemed to fit in his routine.  
One night flings, carnal pleasures, maybe sometimes... But what he had with her couldn't compare to anything else. Apparently the problem back then had been that he had simply not met the right woman yet, and that woman, he could now swear on his life, was the Mage. Their love was forbidden, but real. She gave him so much and he tried to give back as much as he could, besides they were united by the same ideal. What better foundations for a relationship?

He needed to see her up-close. When the music stopped and the rest of his fellow rebels went back to their drinks and conversations, forgetting about the singing lady who had entertained them all with her song, Julian made his way out of the tavern, looking around himself. He could have sworn she had gone this way...

"Looking for me?"- her voice reached his ears and the young man turned around with a sincere smile dancing on his lips. _These kissable lips_, she could not help but think, just before they crushed on top of hers, his body pressing hers against the wall of the lonely tavern for a long, passionate kiss.

"Yes...that was beautiful in there. Did you really sing that for me?"- he asked breathlessly.

"Oh, but of course. You know me and music, I am a sucker for writing and performing it. And you are very special to me, Julian."- she assured him and stroked his cheek with the back of her left hand. "Very, very special."

The cold, damp night enveloped them in a mystic veil, and their eyes never stopped looking at each other.  
People could pass by, someone could see them, but her magic did not allow anyone else to see her as she was. She couldn't _afford_ to be recognized anyway ... In reality, probably everyone saw her differently at the moment. A tricky thing was the multidirectional glamouring... Anyone but _him_, who she allowed to her true self...

Julian, the man who had truly conquered her like no other. The former guardian knew that every word she had sung tonight was true. At least _that_ truth she could tell him, unlike her secrets, which she was forced to keep...

"So you believe that I can do this. You believe that I'm a conqueror, therefore I should be able to one day lead my people to freedom. One day they'll see the light again. Right?"- he sought support, gently holding her to the wall.

"That is what I'm sure of."- she smiled and kissed him again.

His face was clean shaved, but the beard that would soon appear again, pleasantly scratched her own soft cheek. She pressed it against his and just closed her eyes. "You're a fine man and warrior, Julian. And Meridian is lucky to have you."

"Your words mean a lot, love."- he whispered. "As there is nothing that I desire more than seeing my homeland blossoming again...Expect maybe you."- Julian then added and gave her one of his sheepish smirks. "The desire for you is like nothing I've ever experienced before..."

The black-haired woman chuckled softly, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, as you've already conquered me, that can easily be settled tonight."

"You'll come to my room?"

"I'd come anywhere for you."

Stunned by his love and passion, he kissed her eagerly, again and again, as the moon pierced through the thick clouds and poured it's gentle light on them. And when for a second, their lips parted, he said it. He said it in the heat of the moment. The name she had given herself in front of him, a name she often forgot. A name she _hated_ to hear from his beloved lips:

"I love you, Rease."

The ex-guardian was suddenly saddened, but she still replied to his lustful kiss. Rease. As close as it was to her real name, it sounded so foreign. It was because he had turned into someone she loved, that was why. She knew it. Love was a weakness for people like her, she could be a chameleon, changing thousands of colors, forgetting her own, but Julian was always able to return her back to them. Her _true_ colors. That was why she wanted to be real with him so bad. He was her weakness, but if she had to lose him, she'd lose everything, including her vision. The only thing before him, that had managed to sustain her and keep her alive during _hell_.

_One day_, she thought. _Just as you fell in love with my real appearance, you'll be able to say my real name with the same amount of affection, I promise you that, Julian. One day when this Universe bows down before me, when I finally free it from people such as that tyrant that you're trying to save your world from. When those who betrayed me, pay the price... One day we'll be truly honest and happy, I swear. But that time has not yet come...And as long as I fight for that , for a better place for me and you and everyone else, I'll be Rease. I'll be the Mage, I'll be anything and anyone that it takes. Because I love you too. Because I am the only one who can achieve the perfect universal order..._

Broken off her thoughts by his warm hand that gently caressed her face, the woman sank into his arms.

She could rarely look him in the eyes for long while fooling him, but for one thing she did not fool him, and that thing were her feelings. And everyone used to say that she was incapable of loving. Where were these wretches to see her now?

"I love you too, my dear Conqueror."

_**What is left now, but to tell you "splendid"?**_  
_**Right through my heart you have gone, I hand it!**_  
_**Who, what, why, no there's no room for questions-**_  
_**you're a conqueror, my congratulations!**__** (x2)**_

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A/N : If you'd like to hear this song in it's original version (not in English, even though I've given it the most accurate translation possible) do drop me a line. I wrote this little story while listening to it, I hope that you like it. :)


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